דגדגן

The Hebrew word "דגדגן" (dagdegan) has a complex history that began in 1533 when Nathan HaMe'ati was translating medical texts from Arabic to Hebrew. Unable to find a suitable Hebrew term, he transliterated the Arabic word "دغدغ" (daghdag), which referred to tickling sensations. This word appeared occasionally in medical writings but fell out of common use until Rabbi Ze'ev Yavetz revived it in a column in the periodical "Ha'aretz" in 1891. Later, in the early 20th century, Dr. Aaron Meir Mazya, a physician and chair of the Hebrew Language Committee, coined the term "דגדגן" (dagdegan) based on the German slang word "Kitzler" (meaning "something that tickles") to refer specifically to the clitoris. The word faced resistance from the Academy of the Hebrew Language, which preferred the Latin-derived term "קליטוריס" (klitoris) for decades. In 1986, the Academy officially rejected "dagdegan" in favor of "klitoris" by a vote of 7 to 4, with one member arguing that women found the Hebrew term somewhat offensive. However, "dagdegan" gradually gained acceptance in literature and common usage, especially after being used by poets Harold Schimmel, David Avidan, and Yona Wallach in the 1960s-1980s. Finally, in 2009, the Academy indirectly recognized "dagdegan" when approving a comprehensive biology glossary that included the term.